This is a historical and genealogical guide to the town of Abington. You will find help with town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries. There are detailed guides for the towns set off from Abington: [[Hanover, Massachusetts|Hanover]], [[Rockland, Massachusetts|Rockland]], and South Abington (now [[Whitman, Massachusetts|Whitman]]).

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The first land grant in this area was to Nathaniel Souther, Secretary of the Plymouth Colony, in 1654. The first settler was Andrew Ford in 1668. This area was part of Bridgewater at that time and set off as its own town in 1712. Abington was in Plymouth Colony. The town was placed in Plymouth County when counties were formed in 1685. For a brief time, the town was part of the Dominion of New England from 1686 to 1689. The town is still in Plymouth County, though was in limbo, until the "Colony" was merged with Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691 that became the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.<br>

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=== Brief History ===

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== Historical Data<br> ==

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The first land grant in this area was to Nathaniel Souther, Secretary of the [[Plymouth Colony|Plymouth Colony]], in 1654. The first settler was Andrew Ford in 1668. This area was part of [[Bridgewater, Massachusetts|Bridgewater]] at that time and set off as its own town in 1712. The area was placed in [[Plymouth County, Massachusetts|Plymouth County]] when counties were formed in 1685. For a brief time, the area was part of the [[Dominion of New England|Dominion of New England]] from 1686 to 1689. The area was in limbo until the "Colony" was merged with [[Massachusetts Bay Colony|Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1691 that became the [[Massachusetts|Commonwealth of Massachusetts]].

*Benjamin Hobart, ''History of the Town of Abington, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from its first settlement'' (Boston, 1866), 453 pp.<br>Digital version at [http://archive.org/details/historyoftownofa00hoba Internet Archive], [http://books.google.com/books?id=EF9AAAAAYAAJ Google Books], and on [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=16885 Ancestry] ($).<br>[http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1515424 WorldCat (Other Libraries)]; {{FHL|262595|item|disp=FHL film 1033649}}.

*Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, Abington vital records, 1712-1860, {{FHL|390605|item|disp=FHL films 904376–904378, 770907}}; 1850-1905, {{FHL|737654|item|disp=FHL films 2111177–2111178}}.<br>These records are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on [https://familysearch.org/search/image/index#uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Frecords%2Fwaypoint%2FMMBX-DPL%3A1604195319%3Fcc%3D2061550 FamilySearch].

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*Microfiche of the originals created by Archive Publishing covering town records that included vital records and a few other town records, 1712-1892, on 79 fiche. Soon to be part of [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2495 ''Massachusetts, Town Vital Collections, 1620–1988''] at [http://www.ancestry.com/ Ancestry] ($); Index

Abington vital records, 1712-1860 and 1850-1905 are browsable (i.e. not indexed as of Nov. 2012) on [https://familysearch.org/search/image/index#uri=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Frecords%2Fwaypoint%2FMMBX-DPL%3A1604195319%3Fcc%3D2061550 FamilySearch].

#Microfilm of the originals created by the Family History Library, 1712-1860, FHL #904376-904377, 770907; 1850-1905, FHL #2111177-2111178.

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#Microfiche of the originals created by the Holbrook Research Institute covering town records that included vital records and a few other town records, 1712-1892, on 79 fiche.

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#Official state copy of vital records starting in 1841. See the guide to the state for more information here.<br>

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Town Hall

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The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has one of the largest collections of city directories in the country. They are likely to own most of the years listed above. Their collection is in microfiche, microfilm, and books, but there is no online inventory of their holdings except for microfilm. See their guide [http://www.loc.gov/rr/genealogy/bib_guid/telephonnoncurr.html online].

The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Abington. For location of cemeteries, see [http://plymouthcolony.net/abington/cemeteries.html PlymouthColony website]. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject.

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'''10 June 1712:''' Established as a town from part of [[Bridgewater, Massachusetts|Bridgewater]] and certain lands adjoining {Prov. Laws, Vol. XXI, page 605}

Revision as of 15:24, 9 September 2013

This is a historical and genealogical guide to the town of Abington. You will find help with town histories, vital records, city directories, cemetery records and cemeteries, churches, town records, newspapers, maps, and libraries. There are detailed guides for the towns set off from Abington: Hanover, Rockland, and South Abington (now Whitman).

City Directories

The Library of Congress (Washington, D.C.) has one of the largest collections of city directories in the country. They are likely to own most of the years listed above. Their collection is in microfiche, microfilm, and books, but there is no online inventory of their holdings except for microfilm. See their guide online.

Cemeteries

The following is a list of cemeteries in present-day Abington. For location of cemeteries, see PlymouthColony website. For more details regarding these cemeteries, see the state guide under cemeteries for books on the subject.